In Israel, milk and eggs are kosher for Passover only when produced by livestock that is chametz-free. A dairy farmer explains how the holiday alters his routine.

For those who adhere strictly to the laws of Passover, this is a busy time of year. Homes are purged of anything leavened, or anything that might become leavened. Out go the cereal, the crackers, and the flour. Just how strict we need to be when it comes to the presence of grain elsewhere in the food chain is a matter of some debate. In Israel, kosher certifiers insist that that for milk, eggs, and meat to be considered fit for the holiday, the cows and chickens from which they are derived must also be grain-free. Reporter Daniel Estrin went on a tour of a dairy farm outside Jerusalem to find just what this entails. [Running time: 6:20.]

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As we found that a central synagogue as the Temple, with a hereditary priesthood, was undemocratic, and GOD let it be destroyed by the Romans, and we went to Rabbis and local synagogues. We still have our own mishegas in Fundamentalists who insist on stupidity as Glatt Kosher and Shmurrah Matzoh need psychiatric help.
We lived in Singapore for a year and found that grass fed beef tasted better than grain fed, and steaks from Queensland were 1/3 the cost of Omaha beef. This was economics, which is not mishegas. It was not Kosher, and we didn’t feel disturbed.

yehudahsays:

April 16, 2011 - 9:05 am

why is it kosher for salmon to eat shrimp, but not for cows to eat grain before pesach?

I am confused…Being in the cattle biz in Canada my entire life, I understand the concerns, but in the intro the editor suggested we can’t eat the cows “eggs”..huh…

What who feeds Chicken Manure…Is that guy on crack, or know what he is talking about? Cattle Never eat Chicken manure..This kind of makes the story questionable..Very uninformed…

The Hay shouldn’t be used as bedding..I am confused as it should be straw..What the hell..

There are efforts I understand to do the cleaning, but in terms of the substitution of Corn for Hay or Wheat products
I don’t think one week will make a huge difference in terms of heard health, but there has to be concern about bloating…

This was an interesting story, but leaves many questions, and kind of makes one feel that the reporter wasn’t as objective or clued in as he should have been about the nature of milk production…Ps..It is essential to keep the somatic cell count low in dairy cattle to have a clean environment where they are being milked all year round..

PS..ps…Sawdust is an excellent alternative for bedding..

ps..ps..ps..Israel has the hightest milk production per dairy animal in the world..I would suggest the dairy farmers know how to add citrus and other quality products to the cow’s diet to make sure they have good herd health for the week…

Sam Billysays:

April 16, 2011 - 5:08 pm

Would eating potatoes grown in a garden fertilized with cow and chicken manure from grain fed animals be kosher for Passover? Please pass the manna!

Bat-YAH and Malachisays:

April 17, 2011 - 8:41 pm

This seems a little machugana to us and we are staunch believers

steve Ssays:

April 18, 2011 - 11:49 pm

Very interesting Daniel, Im excited to see your name in the news and on NPR. Congrats.

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